X-23 Vol. 1 #3

Spinning out of “NYX,” the true origin of X-23 continues; We’ve witnessed her creation and the acts of mental and physical manipulation that have made her the ultimate weapon. Now we will see her in action! Her first field mission – assassinate a U.S. presidential candidate surrounded by thousands of supporters in broad daylight. And that is just the beginning.

Spoilers

A shadowy organization headed by MARTIN SUTTER is trying to recreate WEAPON X, the experiment that created WOLVERINE. After years of failure, renowned mutant geneticist DR. SARAH KINNEY is brought in for one purpose-to create a CLONE using blood and tissue samples stolen from the original project.

The samples are damaged, however–the only way to succeed is to make a slight alteration to the DNA. And despite DR. ZANDER RICE’S protests, a modified female clone of Wolverine is created.

From the moment of her birth, X-23 is treated like a weapon and raised in a cold, sterile environment. The only human contact she has is with Sarah, and always under the watchful eyes of Rice and Sutter.

She is trained in the arts of war, strategy, human anatomy, combat and stealth. She is given a sensei, TANAKA, and is instructed in martial arts. And X-23 masters it all as the years pass.

Finally, Sutter gives the order. Despite Sarah’s plea to wait, X-23’s mutation is trigered early, and Zander Rice violently and hatefully extracts her bone claws, bonding them with ADAMANTIUM but leaving the rest of her skeleton untouched.

Only now is Sarah seeing the consequences of what she has done, and nothing illustrates them more than when Zander unveils the TRIGGER SCENT-a chemical that sends X-23 into an involuntary BERZERKER RAGE. She slaughters her sensei Tanaka as Sutter and Rice watch, pleased with X-23’s lethal potential.